Power AdderGetting a Supercharger or Turbocharger? Thinking about using Nitrous? All forced induction and N2O topics discussed here.
Welcome to ThirdGen.org!
Welcome to ThirdGen.org.
You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, join the ThirdGen.org community today!
Found this Kaiser roto-charger, it's my understanding it's from a world warII era german kubel wagon. Internally it very much resembles a rotor type motor found in a mazda RX-7. Mounting it shouldn't be much of an issue since it is chain driven so I figure I can just mount a bicycle sprocket to my crankshaft pulley and power it off that.
I am thinking about intercooling this as well and bring it's prehistoric nature into the 21st century. Probably do TBI mods and injector changes to handle the boost as well. The oiling system is unique on this it basically uses zerk fitting to lubricate the bearings as well as a line you run fuel into ( I guess to compensate for additional fuel demands )
I have thought since it's design is for high RPM using like a 15 speed bicycle's multi gear setup on the back and weld it to my crank shaft and use a electronic solenoid to switch gears ( like an overdrive ) for the roto-charger. For the air intake I could probably just get away using PCV pipe and integrate a blow-off valve to keep the pipes from bursting.
Any other idea's would be appreciated.
This ad is not displayed to registered members. Register your free account today and become a member on ThirdGen!
Sponsored Links
Registered users do not see this ad. Click here to register for free!
Ummmmmmmm PVC pipe and bicycle chains welded to your crank huh? I just Mmmmm well I realy Ummmmmmmmm hell I dont even know what to say...good luck with your project I guess!
You probably could make it work but I would take off the sprocket and retrofit a pully on it...then get correct plumbing (PVC) is not correct plumbing and neither is garden hose or what ever else you might see at home depot! They actually use to run these on old cars, here are a few pics I found to give you alittle hint about how it should be installed.
Just a side note, the GM 4.3L V6 engine isn't a very efficient engine, I wouldn't recommend going to that engine to replace an L98 (for any reason) especially fuel efficiency.
What's the idea behind this? Getting boost for cheap? Or...? I think that WW2 relic should be left for a museum, I don't think it'll work very well.
Chain being driven at higher RPM needs some cooling/lubricant (think of your timing chain, without any oil?). I'd use a belt system if at all possible. Actually, like I said i'd skip it completely but....
very unique ill give you that. but welding a bicycle sprocket to spin at roughly 4k-5k rpms with tension on it and on top of it a tbi system i sure hope you can tune.
Well, I built a bracket to mount the Kaiser roto-charger. Tomorrow I am going to weld a sprocket to my power steering pulley to drive the roto-charger. I also considered somehow welding the sprocket to the a/c compressor so I could use the roto-charger only when I engaged the compressor.
As for cooling the chain thats not a big problem the kaiser has a sorta shroud that covers the chain drive system and basically you fill it with gear oil and the chain in submerged in the oil.
a chain tensioner will be a problem though. Cant even find web pictures of how this thing was setup in the kubelwagon originally.
I got the kaiser roto-charger working today. By welding a sprocket to my power steering pump it is centered really good downside to it where the air comes out it not a steady stream of air like a turbo or a supercharger, it's more like pulses of air.
this weekend I am going to work on routing a pipe up to my TBI unit and see how it runs. might try and fab a super long timing chain though to drive it since I am just a little worried the bicycle chain could cause problems.
Well, today I bought some sewer pipe to use for my air intake setup ..... Bad news is the kaiser blew apart the pipes so I'm back to the drawing board. I am proud to say for the first 50' before the pipes burst the car had pretty good power.
Other then lots of broken bicycle chains I cant see this accomplishing anything. Just mod the L98 if you want more power. Also, dont bother with teh 4.3L. All it will do is just slow the car down. The L98 should be able to get decent fuel economy. Id say at least 18 in the city and 25 on the highway with normal driving and speeds.
it isn't a hoax today the guy that bought my rearend from my car rode in my car and was very impressed with the power. By the way today I used flexible metal dryer tube to get the air to my throttle. I don't have a boost gauge but can tell you the 350 has alot more power with this roto-charger and only costed me 49.75 so far to put it on my car.
I'm going to experiment with 15 timing chains and use that instead of the bicycle chain idea figure those will be able to handle the RPM which I normally run my car at.
That supercharger could probably be worth something for someone restoring an old original ... If you use it and try to make some power with it then the supercharger will not last for very long.
that doesn't look like mine though. My discharge outlet is on top and this one has a pulley where as mine has a sprocket. I do want to say though right now it seems to be working ok I beat my friends 1990 vette with it in place and that is with my new 3.08 gears to where as he beat me with 3.73 gears. So yea it's definately quiker.
Laugh all you want but it works and for less then 95 bucks I beat my friends corvette ... By the way he laughed too till I beat him.
It sounds like a fun project. I remember back in the day that just about all the bike sprockets I came across were not made that well and were off-centered. This caused one to rotate the sprocket and check for chain tight spots and adjust accordingly Did you find a good sprocket?
How did you figure out what size sprocket and what RPM that SC is rated for?
You can't be running that much boost if the metal dryer hose is working. Why not connected up a cheap $5 air pressure gauge to it and see what the boost is at?
Which car is more reliable now...the vette you beat or your car with the bike chain off of the engine? Not trying to pick, going fast isn't the hard part. Going fast reliably for extended periods is the hard part.
just bought a 18 speed huffy bike and started playing around with sprockets is all .... reliability isnt a issue at all for me. If I want that I just take the bike chain off and run the car normally, for 95 bucks its a good thing and it beat my friends car so thats all that matters.
Really? How ?? I mean, 5.5psi should blow off the dryer hose easily...?
I'd love to see a picture of what this thing looks like, or a video of it revving...
Lol man u gotta post some Pics seriously. Its been a MONTH now. Dont laugh at the sprocket driven roto-charger. Jesus prolly used that setup too, when he was street racing.
*Boost* Get it how you can... i guess
__________________ 383 Stroker Engine, Eagle steel crank, Eagle I-Beam rods, JE Pistons, Iski Cam, Pete Jackson Gear Drive, Edlebrock Aluminum Heads, Edlebrock Air Gap intake, Edlebrock 125 shot Nitrous, Holly 750 Carb, Holley Blue Fuel pump, MSD 6AL ignition, Accel distributor, Hooker shorty headers, 3-inch FlowMaster exhaust, TCI Drag Comp Full Manual 350 Transmission, TCI 3200 RPM Stall converter, LCA's, Hotchkis SFCs, Firestone Drag Bags, Harwood lift-off Fiberglass Hood, Bucket Seats, RJS Cam style 5pt racing harnesses, B&M Ratchet shifter, Complete Autometer ultralight dash guages, Centerline wheels – 15x7 front & 15x10 back,Hoosier tires (front),Goodyear Eagle GTII (back), Complete Alpine car system and Monitors.
*427 Small Block buildup in progress! 850hp on Pump gas is the goal!!
Last edited by urmomshot77; 11-22-2007 at 01:37 AM.
Think I do remember seeing a setup running a chain drive since the belt kept slipping but it wasn't a freakin huffy chain and sprockets. Lack of pictures/video after this long usually means total BS from a person trying to impress others. Hummm, I seem to remember another person on this board who lied about what his car had in it but finally came clean.
You notice he doesnt actually name the members on this board who have seen his car? The reason he hasnt posted pictures is he cannot find someone who has done this swap before to steal the pics.
Or perhaps I am concentrating more on polishing my TPI system then worrying about my car ..... Yet another idea.
Dude if your working on it that much how ****ing hard is it to snap a damned picture if your going to get all pissy what people think your BSing them than prove em wrong post up a stupid pic or better yet crack out a video camera do a big stupid burnout show em under the hood and send em all to bed
I wouldn't bother polishing the TPI until you get the chain changed. If it flies off then it may wack the nice polish job. Then again, why polish a TPI with an ugly 1940s SC with a bike chain? The two don't mix.
It takes about 14HP to drive the boost you stated. Sure a bike chain will handle 14HP?
Playing with junk turbos and superchargers is fun and have their place. Sitting on a polished TPI is not the place for them. If they look like junk then the engine needs to look like junk.
That makes more sense. Are you boosting a TPI or TBI? Did you weld the SC pully to the PS pulley or the PS shaft? Was the 5.5PSI reading from a tire gauge?
Its hooked up to my TBI system ... no used a vacum gauge to measure boost
----------
and I welded a spacer on my power steering pumps pulley then welded the sprocket to that. I tension the chain by moving the kaiser and tightening the bolts.
Last edited by Jproz1167; 11-24-2007 at 01:31 AM.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Its hooked up to my TBI system ... no used a vacum gauge to measure boost
----------
and I welded a spacer on my power steering pumps pulley then welded the sprocket to that. I tension the chain by moving the kaiser and tightening the bolts.
Would you like to explain to the class how you got a vacume gauge to read boost cause I really gotta hear this one
Well, sadly the chain broke and wiped out some stuff under my hood ... upper radiator hose, power steering lines. Dam thing even trashed my serpentine belt and wiper washer resovoir.
So have to come up with something stronger I guess and I'm leaning towards a motorcycle chain now that thing couldn't possibly break! probably try like a offroad bikes chain and intergrate a idler pulley setup instead of using the bolts that hold the kaiser in place as my chain tensioning setup.
I'm going to re-think this setup better this time and really make it reliable because I really like the power it makes just can't afford to be replacing stuff under my hood that the chain takes out when it breaks. Luckily it spared my radiators life!
Every vacuum gauge i've ever seen will read up to 30"HG in vacuum, and 15psi boost (1psi =~ 2"HG, so it's a split scale). A "vacuum" gauge will measure his boost just fine.
There's a mess of types of chain out there, check out industrial suppliers, rather than stealing it from a motorcycle. If it can handle a 150HP motorcycle it's damn sure to be strong enough for this application. Or of course you could use dual V-belts, or a serp belt.
I'd still like to see a picture of what this looks like - carnage included of course.
Well, sadly the chain broke and wiped out some stuff under my hood ... upper radiator hose, power steering lines. Dam thing even trashed my serpentine belt and wiper washer resovoir.
So have to come up with something stronger I guess and I'm leaning towards a motorcycle chain now that thing couldn't possibly break!
..Now imagine what a Motorcycle chain is gunna wipe out when it busts your sprocket.
Yeah there called boost gauges cause they read boost god its like a nursery school in here lately
Careful there fella, I wasn't talking about a gauge that's mounted in the car. I was talking about a common hand-held mechanic's tool generally used for diagnosing a problem
Well, sadly the chain broke and wiped out some stuff under my hood ... upper radiator hose, power steering lines. Dam thing even trashed my serpentine belt and wiper washer resovoir.
So have to come up with something stronger I guess and I'm leaning towards a motorcycle chain now that thing couldn't possibly break! probably try like a offroad bikes chain and intergrate a idler pulley setup instead of using the bolts that hold the kaiser in place as my chain tensioning setup.
I'm going to re-think this setup better this time and really make it reliable because I really like the power it makes just can't afford to be replacing stuff under my hood that the chain takes out when it breaks. Luckily it spared my radiators life!
and on top of it a tbi system i sure hope you can tune. 
